World Cup 2018 Bid Football Betting

Here's a poser for you. What do you do if you're a national football association looking to host arguably the planet's biggest sporting event, yet have suffered set back after set back after embarrassment after humiliation during your unofficial bidding campaign? Easy. You employ the services of your country's most high profile, globally recognized sports star, treat him like royalty and stick him/her atop your World Cup 2018 bid football betting Christmas tree. Which is exactly what England have done – or rather, the Football Association (FA) – as they upped the ante on their main rivals for the gig. So step forward Sir David of Beckham (C'mon, it can only be a matter of time) to champion the cause and put the great back in to Britain. Or more specifically, team England.

The thing is the FA couldn't ask for a better glove puppe, sorry, ambassador. Lots of palm greasing, looking swanky in a bib and tucker and making all the right noises in front of FIFA suits in South Africa; who were all gathered to witness the draw in Cape Town for the 2010 World Cup groups. No sooner than he'd touched down in Cape Town, Beckham was initiating firm hand-shakes and trademark poses with the real World Cup 2018 bid Football Betting movers and shakers, the all-important likes of FIFA President, Sepp Blatter and UEFA President and long-time English football admirer, Michel Platini (ho hum). As the new cornerstone of England's World Cup 2018 bid, Beckham isn't taking his involvement and duties lightly, and admits that there's a long way to go yet. He says that, “it's just about keeping it going (the momentum of the campaign) and not being arrogant” and that, “just because it's England doesn't mean we're going to get the World Cup in our country”. No David. More a case of despite the fact we're England we might get the World Cup happening on our very own footballing doorstep if we continue this more considered approach.

England's Primary Football Cities Chosen By World Cup 2018 Bid Committee

Mid-December 2009 saw the official FA bid team responsible for orchestrating England's push to host the FIFA World Cup 2018, confirm their final decisions and publish the relevant details with regard which UK cities would stage potential World Cup games should the nation be ultimately chosen to put on the greatest football show on the planet. The usual provincial footballing citadels all got the nod, so Birmingham's Villa Park, Manchester's Old Trafford and City of Manchester Stadium, Liverpool's Anfield and Newcastle's St. James' Park breathed a collective sigh of relief, whilst Wembley Stadium would be the focal point for English fans in the event of football finally coming home, 52 years after it was last played out in the UK.

However, there had to be some casualties, and some relatively high profile ones in this instance, as Leicester City's Walker Stadium, Derby County's Pride Park, Hull City's KC Stadium, Everton's Goodison Park (or any new stadium that Liverpool City Council are stalling on anyway) and Sheffield United's Bramhall Lane ground fell by the wayside despite putting up passionate and considered arguments for selection on the World Cup 2018 bid football betting rota. Yet by far and away the biggest snub in terms of club facilities was the ignoring of Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge in favour of Barclays Premier League rivals' - Arsenal and Spurs – home stadiums.

Milton Keynes Selected Ahead Of Leicester, Derby And Hull To Host 2018 World Cup Football Matches

These surprise omissions were made all the more galling for those World Cup 2018 bid football betting officials representing the respective cities in question when it emerged that their stadia had been overlooked by the decision-making committee at the expense of the previously untried and untested likes of Nottingham, Bristol, Plymouth and Milton Keynes; although in their defence, infrastructure, crowd safety and geographical positioning would have been high on the agenda. The later not even being a town planner's dream over half a century ago when the World Cup was last staged on English shores, but on this occasion obviously fulfilling the far-ranging criteria set out as part of the FA's proposals to secure a water-tight blueprint for eventual World Cup 2018 bid success.

The full list of host stadiums nominated by the those charged with administrating England's recently reinvigorated World Cup 2018 bid are as follows;

Sunderland – Sunderland AFC's Stadium of Light

London – Wembley, Arsenal FC's Emirates Stadium and either Tottenham Hotspur's proposed new White Hart Lane replacement ground or the Olympic Stadium

Birmingham – Aston Villa's Villa Park

Nottingham – Nottingham Forest's existing City Ground or the proposed new Nottingham Forest Stadium

Manchester – Manchester United's Old Trafford and Manchester City's City of Manchester Stadia

Leeds – Leeds United's Elland Road stadium

Sheffield – Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground

Newcastle – Newcastle United FC's St. James' Park

Bristol – Bristol City's new Ashton Vale stadium

Plymouth – Plymouth Argyle FC's Home Park ground

Liverpool – Liverpool FC's existing home, Anfield or the proposed new Anfield stadium

Milton Keynes – Milton Keynes Dons FC's Stadium MK

Could World Cup Football Really Be Coming Home To England In 2018?

So, from a World Cup 2018 bid football betting angle, how do we see things panning out right now? That's the million dollar question on all our internet football betting lips in light of Becks' best efforts away from the pitch, and once the hullabaloo over the World Cup 2010 group stages are finally announced, just what are England's chances of holding the 2018 World Cup? The online World Cup 2018 bid football betting bookies have already compiled its findings and produced a current market that's naturally subject to change before December 2010. By and large they're favouring England's bid, and given the recent introduction of David Beckham into the cut and thrust of the 2018 World Cup bid believe that England could well be onto an eventual winner, given the LA Galaxy player's previous success' in ambassadorial roles. Many think his critical, timely and ultimately pivotal input in the 2012 Olympic Games bidding procedure will carry over to England's 2018 World Cup bid, and cite the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder as something of a lucky charm.

On the back of Beckham's emergence as the ace in England's 2018 World Cup bidding pack, Coral has cut its odds to 5/4, while William Hill altering their World Cup 2018 bid football betting prices according, now installing England as 7/4 favourites. SkyBet remain a little less patriotic and a little more realistic, with their commercial belief at football's finally coming home trading at 5/2.  Spain and Portugal's bid is currently 11/4 with Coral, who also suggest that Australia are 4/1 and Russia 5/1 at this early juncture to stage the 2018 World Cup Finals.

England's World Cup 2018 Bid Lent Credence By Presence Of David Beckham

Also at the bidding countries' expo was Beckham's old Real Madrid team-mate, Luis Figo. Only this time the former work colleagues are being used as the figureheads for two rival countries' bidding process, as Figo is charged with trumpeting the joint Portugal and Spain World Cup 2018 campaign. According to our sources – and not the sort of news we want to hear coming out of our camp – England's was the most disappointing of the four-minute videos that were broadcast in Cape Town to an eager media circus, and rather inconsistently there wasn't even a single image of Beckham as part of the PR package. As to the competition's small screen offerings, Spain and Portugal forced Gaudi's Barcelona-based architecture down our throats, interspersed with pictures of Deco, Torres and Xavi flashing their deft footballing skills in our faces. While Australia relied heavily on Nicole Kidman's two big assets. Namely having successfully hosted two big Olympic Games. The other joint televisual bid from Holland and Belgium centred around each countries' prime ministers attempting to string some passes together and Belgium tennis star – Justine Henin – who it turns out can play keepy-uppy.

Meanwhile, Russia's celluloid bid saw Arsenal's controversial forward read out his country of births' key attributes from a series of auto-cues, delivered in a suitably uninspiring monologue resonance, whilst Japan harped on about technological advancements (quel surprise) and little else leaving the USA to do what they do best. Bluster and chest beat about nothing of any substance to a backdrop of stars, stripes and cheerleaders. Hurrah, God save America and all that.

Spain And Portugal's Joint World Cup 2018 Bid Football Betting Chances Helped By Appearance Of Luis Figo

Of course, not even an event of this magnitude and importance could pass off without some incident, with Spain and Portugal this time being the culprit and very nearly coming to blows with the USA into the bargain. Probably not the best country to upset given their trigger-happy record. Apparently the former 'sports personality' to be wheeled out once all the initial pitches where received was the aforementioned Luis Figo. Yet no-one seemed to have told him to hold his horses as he wandered in stage left during America's video presentation unannounced, with the attending media scrums' attention then firmly switching to another bid teams' big name recruit; resulting in America banging on about foul play etc.

Brand Beckham Will Deliver England's World Cup 2018 Hosting Dream Goods According To Online Bookies

England's evergreen midfield maestro has been brought to South Africa to rejuvenate what's recently become something of a flagging bid by England to claim the rights to stage the 2018 World Cup. The draw for the group stages of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was seized upon by the bidding countries' football associations as the perfect platform in which to renew their individual statements of intent and promises to deliver the best World Cups imaginable, whilst assuring the judging panel that the countries in question have the necessary infrastructure, transport network, financial clout and most important of all, stadiums in place to put on what's often referred to as the greatest show on earth.

The exhibition itself took the form of rounds of both private and public meetings between each bidding nation's representatives and those bodies of people they have to impress and convince most between now and December 2010 if they're to realize their countries' romantic and commercial dream. Global sponsors, the media and integral members of FIFA's executive committee are the tough nuts to crack – and from England's perspective – the people who Beckham had to prioritise winning over with his charm and charisma and fervent understanding and belief of his home countries' vision, if not his scintillating rhetoric and tub-thumping mannerisms. Therefore centre-spread-spanning smiles, impromptu kick-abouts with South African kids and the handing out of countless Beckham-signed official England merchandise was the order of the days leading up to and including the 2010 World Cup group stage draw if England's 2018 World Cup bid was to be put back on track.

Up until David Beckham's star billing, England's World Cup 2018 bid had been observed in many quarters as being lacklustre, and displaying an absence of any notable pizazz; especially by one of its fiercest critics, the influential and often out-spoken FIFA Vice-President, Jack Warner. Cue the call for brand Beckham to take centre stage, as one thing's for sure, no other bidding country could utilize the relentless global endorsement machine that is David Beckham PLC, football's most famous face without doubt.

The ten bidding nations are; England, Spain and Portugal, Australia, Holland and Belgium, Russia, Japan, United States, Qatar (2022), Indonesia (2022) and South Korea (2022). The latter three are concentrating on pitching for the following 2022 World Cup which they believe they've got a better chance of winning. FIFA's World Cup organising committee will decide on just which of the bidding countries are awarded the host nation honour for the 2018 World Cup on December the 2nd 2010 in Zurich, Switzerland.